Huh? There's a magic school here.

On a misty morning, the 400-person expedition team embarked on their journey.

For safety reasons, the entire expedition team traveled slowly in the Dragon Kingdom's caravan. Some wizards and Dragon Kingdom soldiers served as scouts, searching around the caravan in case any rare items were discovered along the way!

Professor Qi Yongqiang, along with several students interested in magical creatures, walked on the outer edge of the convoy, as the large crowds and vehicle noise were very unfriendly to the animals. In order to spot more magical creatures, they had to stay on the periphery of the procession.

As several students were chatting and laughing about today's itinerary, Qi Yongqiang gestured for everyone to stop. Seeing their professor stop, the students immediately stopped as well, looking at him curiously. What was going on? Why did they suddenly stop moving?

Qi Yongqiang touched his sleeve, then took out a magic wand from his pocket and pointed it at a large tree in front of him.

"All petrified!"

A flash of green light struck the large tree, and to the students' astonishment, a long strip of bark fell to the ground with a soft thud. Qi Yongqiang then retrieved his wand and walked over, and the students immediately followed their teacher to see what had happened.

A piece of tree bark, resembling a long rope, stiffened and fell to the ground. The students realized that what had been struck by the petrification spell was definitely not tree bark. Just as someone was about to ask a question, Qi Yongqiang began explaining the object to the students on his own.

"This is a Phantom Serpent, a type of snake that lives by attacking small animals. It generally doesn't attack creatures larger than itself, so as long as you don't provoke them, you don't need to be afraid. Of course, according to my research, even if you are accidentally bitten by it, there won't be a big problem, just a temporary paralysis of about thirty minutes! If you are in the base, it's fine, but it's still a bit dangerous in the wild!"

"Wow, but they're so well hidden, how are we going to find them?"

"There's no good solution right now, it mainly depends on intuition! Or you'll need a pet with an exceptional sense of smell!"

"Then Professor Qi must have extremely strong intuition?"

"No, it's because of it!"

As he spoke, Qi Yongqiang raised his left hand, and a bird-snake slowly poked its head out of his sleeve, flicking its tongue. After everyone saw it, the bird-snake nodded at everyone and then retreated back into Qi Yongqiang's sleeve.

"This is my pet bird snake, its name is Lucky Day! So, can any of you tell me what characteristics a bird snake has?"

The students, who were originally waiting for Qi Yongqiang to introduce his bird-snake, immediately became nervous. What to do when the professor suddenly asks about subject knowledge during the autumn outing? They were in a real bind, waiting for answers online! Fortunately, they were all senior graduates, and someone would inevitably know some strange and unusual knowledge. Of course, this was because some people didn't continue their studies in the course of Protecting Magical Creatures after passing the OWL level exams. Coincidentally, only one Slytherin among the group had pursued advanced studies in this subject. And his pursuit of this subject wasn't out of any particular passion for it; rather, he wanted to run a business selling magical materials, which required knowledge of most magical creatures.

"Professor, the bird snake is an extremely dangerous snake! It has a strong sense of aggression and defense! Most importantly, the bird snake's venom has the effect of erasing memories, so its venom is also a major ingredient in the production of amnesia potions!"

"Perfect! Mr. William Ramsay's answer is perfect; it captures all the characteristics of the bird-snake! If this were in class, I wouldn't mind giving Slytherin a perfect score! But unfortunately, we're on holiday! However, I should add that snakes are extremely sensitive to smell! Lucky Day discovered this mirage snake just now because of its scent!"

After speaking, Qi Yongqiang crouched down to examine the petrified phantom snake. He noticed blood flowing from its abdomen. The snake's wound was clearly inflicted by another wild animal, which explained why it had chosen to hide itself instead of fleeing when a large creature approached—it was injured. Qi Yongqiang then took out a bottle of purple powder from his pocket and sprinkled some on the snake. He then drew his wand and whispered a spell. After a flash of white light, the snake's wounds disappeared.

The phantom serpent quickly regained its vitality and slithered towards Qi Yongqiang. The students behind Qi Yongqiang immediately drew their wands and shouted warnings to their professor. Qi Yongqiang, however, made no move, allowing the phantom serpent to approach him. Then, to the students' astonishment, the phantom serpent crawled from Qi Yongqiang's leg to his shoulder and affectionately rubbed its head against his cheek.

Then, under the students' astonished gazes, Qi Yongqiang stretched out his arm and placed his hand on the same large tree. The snake he had transformed into seemed to receive a command and climbed back up the tree. Qi Yongqiang then began to enjoy the students' adoration, and the students, like curious children, started asking him questions.

"Professor Qi, you're amazing! How did you manage to tame this snake so well? If I take your course next semester, will I be able to do the same?"

“No, Miss Ellie! It’s a talent. I was born with the ability to attract animals. Basically, most creatures have a natural affinity for me, and as long as I don’t harm them, they won’t harm me!”

"I remember now, a senior student mentioned that we have a Grand Druid at Hogwarts Hufflepuff. Could that be you, Professor?"

"If there are no unforeseen circumstances, then it's me!"

Qi Yongqiang touched his nose a little embarrassed after the students said that.

"I think I've heard this story before. The senior students said that whenever a Grand Druid takes a class on protecting magical creatures, those magical animals will flock around Professor Qi."

"Such a thing exists? I've never heard of it!"

"I'm from Hufflepuff School!"

"Oh, I see! Then it seems I don't have that talent!"

After Ellie finished speaking, she and the other students sighed. This answer was a blow to these young students! Seeing that the students were a little down, Qi Yongqiang immediately changed the subject.

"Don't be so discouraged. There are benefits to learning about protecting magical creatures! At least thanks to the efforts of our school's teachers, the domestication of this Phantom Serpent is almost complete! In a while, you will be able to have a Phantom Serpent as a pet!"